This refreshing kale cashew pesto sauce is perfect for seasoning spring and summer dishes! If you love the creamy, bright, garlic flavor of pesto, you will love this recipe. I was inspired by the Trader Joe’s version and knew I could make it at home for a fraction of the price with cleaner ingredients!
Kale Cashew Pesto and TCM
In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), basil and garlic are considered acrid and warm, which supports the health of the TCM lung, spleen, stomach, and large intestine. They eliminate wind, cold, and damp symptoms, which may help if you experience irregular menses, diarrhea, pain, bloating, headaches, or frequent colds/ flu.
Benefits of Kale
Kale is a member of the cabbage family. It is warm in nature and has a sweet, bitter flavor. Kale is a great iron, calcium, vitamin A, Vitamin K, and chlorophyll source. In TCM, kale helps build and nourish the blood, which may remedy anemic and digestive conditions.
Benefits of Cashews
During spring and summer, small amounts of nuts and seeds are recommended to aid digestion and provide a source of healthy fats. The cashew butter used in this recipe is appropriate for the season and adds a creamy, nutty texture.
Traditional Chinese Medicine Principles
Temperature: Warm
Flavor: Sweet, acrid, bitter
Organs: Spleen, Stomach, Lung, Large Intestine, Liver
Actions: Moves Qi and stagnation, nourishes the blood, removes toxicities, reduces inflammation, reduces edema, boost immune system
I hope you love this Kale Cashew Pesto Recipe! Leave a comment below if you have any questions or to tell us how much you loved it!
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Kale Cashew Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 cup Fresh Basil leaves packed
- 1 cup Fresh Kale leaves no stem, packed
- 1 Tbsp Cashew butter
- 1/2 Fresh lemon juiced (about 2 Tbsp)
- 1/4 tsp Fine sea salt
- 4 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 clove Garlic whole
Instructions
- Add kale, basil, cashew butter, lemon juice, salt, and garlic to a food processor and pulse 3 times to start chopping ingredients.
- Turn on food processor and start slowly drizzilingolive oil into the food processer one tablesppon at a time until all ingredients are fully incoproated.
- Add to your favorite gluten-free pasta or zucchini noodles! Enjoy!
- Store in an airtight glass container. Pour a thin layer of olive oil on top of pesto to prevent browning. Keep refrigerated.
Notes
- Feel free to add more cloves of garlic if you like your pesto extra strong!
- Slowly add more olive oil if the pesto is still chunky to get everything fully incorporated.
- If Kale is no longer in season you could try a different leafy green or use more basil (2 cups total).
